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Trolley has money, ridership woes // DOCUMENT

By MATTHEW BEATON | The News Herald

Published: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 09:02 PM.

Declining routes and ridership

After a rate hike took effect March 1, ridership fell by 13.5 percent over the next three months. Last year from March to May, the Bay Town Trolley had 213,620 riders, but 184,831 for the same time period this year.

The TPO approved a rate hike in February, which increased the day pass by 33.3 percent to $4 and the month pass by 16.6 percent to $35. The single-ride rate was unchanged: $1.50 or 75 cents for students, seniors and those with disabilities.

But the numbers don’t accurately reflect what’s happened with the trolley because routes have decreased, said Mark Meeks, who co-owns Santa Ynez Valley Transportation Services LLC, which operates the trolley.

In an interview, Meekssaid that starting in October, the number of routes decreased from 15 to 11. All four were seasonal routes and had to be eliminated because grant funding ran out.

But still the buses are hauling passengers, just not as many, Meeks said. He gave “normalized” numbers that, he said, show ridership is down 7 percent in April and May. The non-normalized numbers show ridership down 13 percent for those months.

PANAMA CITY— More bad news came out Wednesday about the area’s struggling trolley system.

Not only have rates risen, ridership numbers have fallen and routes decreased; the trolley now needs local governments to pony up another $250,000 so it can cover its budget for fiscal year 2013-14.

The announcement came at Bay County Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) meeting. Last year, the local governments only contributed $145,947 to the Bay Town Trolley, which has begun to struggle in the face of declining grant funding.

Now it must rely on the generosity of local governments, which may have budget problems of their own. The lion’s share of the $250,000 will come from Bay County and Panama City. The TPO is requesting $92,596 from the county and $82,634 from the city.

There also are requests from Panama City Beach for $35,338, Springfield for $12,094, Lynn Haven for $9,059, Callaway for $7,251, Parker for $6,817 and Gulf Coast State College for $4,358.

The county in particular is looking at a tight budget, where it expects to lose another $4 million in fiscal year 2014. It may also be the last budget cycle before it’s forced to raise property taxes.

County Commissioner Bill Dozier, who sits on the TPO board, wasn’t ready to say if he’d entertain doubling the county’s contribution to the trolley. But the prospect isn’t appealing.

“We’re stretched thin as it is, with so many other services that the county (has)” he said in an interview after the meeting,

Dozier said the contribution would be discussed at the county’s budget workshop July 10.

History behind contributions

Dozier also outlined the history behind local governments contributing to the trolley budget. They first helped out in fiscal year 2006-07 and have done so every year thereafter. The money allowed the trolley buses to run an extra two hours, between 6 and 8 p.m., as well as on Saturday service and it put extra trolleys on the road during peak hours.

The local governments’ contribution served as matching funds for a grant that has since expired, Dozier said. So to maintain the current trolley offerings, the local governments must step up and fill the void left.

“If we can’t fund that gap, then (there’s) a possibility that they may have to reduce services,” Dozier said.

Declining routes and ridership

After a rate hike took effect March 1, ridership fell by 13.5 percent over the next three months. Last year from March to May, the Bay Town Trolley had 213,620 riders, but 184,831 for the same time period this year.

The TPO approved a rate hike in February, which increased the day pass by 33.3 percent to $4 and the month pass by 16.6 percent to $35. The single-ride rate was unchanged: $1.50 or 75 cents for students, seniors and those with disabilities.

But the numbers don’t accurately reflect what’s happened with the trolley because routes have decreased, said Mark Meeks, who co-owns Santa Ynez Valley Transportation Services LLC, which operates the trolley.

In an interview, Meekssaid that starting in October, the number of routes decreased from 15 to 11. All four were seasonal routes and had to be eliminated because grant funding ran out.

But still the buses are hauling passengers, just not as many, Meeks said. He gave “normalized” numbers that, he said, show ridership is down 7 percent in April and May. The non-normalized numbers show ridership down 13 percent for those months.

It’s too early to tell if the fare increases caused the fall in ridership, Meeks said.

“We need a little bit more time to project a trend,” he said, adding he was unsure if the higher rates were making up for the revenue lost by having fewer riders.

Summer is the trolley’s busiest time of year and will offer a good chance analyze whether the fare increases have hurt ridership, Meeks said.

“We need to look at it at the end of the summer, in my opinion, and then decide whether it is too drastic of an increase,” he said.